Truth be told, Bay Mills cannot win its off-reservation casino bid in court. Its only path always was to cut a deal with Gov. Rick Snyder and obtaining the permission of the feds — namely the Department of the Interior — to place the land into a trust.

You know, Bay Mills and Port Huron actually are no closer to opening a Port Huron casino now than 23 years ago.

For us locals — the Thomas Edison Casino Committee, Dick Cummings, Gary Fletcher and myself, folks who have spent what seems like a lifetime working to bring what would be an amazing economic powerhouse to our struggling community — it sure looks as if we again have drawn a losing hand.

There is one thing we know for certain: What this ruling really does is guarantee the lawyers and the lobbyists millions more dollars for decades to come.